


The Wind Beneath My Wings

by ChillMalDigga



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst, Bonds, Bonds Beyond Time, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Hurt, Hurt Tony Stark, Just a touch of fantasy, Kinda Soulmate, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Soulmates, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony Stark still hates magic, dragon!Tony
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-05
Updated: 2019-02-03
Packaged: 2019-08-19 12:15:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16534385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChillMalDigga/pseuds/ChillMalDigga
Summary: Tony Stark was a dragon. That’s it, nothing more to it. At least in his eyes. He didn’t need a Bonded, he once had one, but it ended in a disappointment, and he never wanted to do it again. He never wanted to bond, let someone take the place on his shoulders again.But who says that old bonds don't last? He certainly didn't know that.





	1. Wings

_Tony Stark was a dragon. That’s it, nothing more to it. At least in his eyes. He didn’t need a Bonded, he once had one, but it ended in a disappointment, and he never wanted to do it again. He never wanted to bond, let someone take the place on his shoulders again._

* * *

 

When he hatched to Howard Stark, the famous weapon engineer just grew out of boyhood himself. Howard eagerly told him that his egg was a present from his father, who got it from the construction site of one of the Stark Industries factories, and that he didn’t believe that the red and gold egg was just some fancy gem.  
The dragon latched onto Howard, and the red and gold mark that looked like his scales appeared on Howard’s left arm just a few days after he hatched. The young engineer gave him the name Anthony and explained that it was originally his middle name but would suit him just fine, and Anthony became Tony when the young hatchling lazed around him like a fat cat while he was around Howard. Tony did learn how to speak and Howard loved to talk to him, explain his projects while the dragon watched on his perch on Howard’s shoulder until he became too heavy to be carried around.

He just hit the first major growth spurt, getting taller than a Danish mastiff, when the military approached Howard to work on project Rebirth. Tony was wary of the soldiers trampling around in his territory, and more than once he growled at them like a rabid dog when they came too near or kept Howard’s attention too long. Tony desperately clung to him so much that he asked his project partners to bring him along to the base.  
Erskine was a man Tony respected, even if he prodded at him whenever they took a break between some test runs. His inner flame burned brighter whenever Howard preened about him to his colleagues.

“I have read myths about dragons.” Erskine awed when they met the first time.

“Tony even speaks, whenever I build something, and when he has an idea to improve he nags on me ‘til I do it.”

“Sure, I do. How do you expect that flying car of yours to work when the power output is so high the outage grills everyone around it before it even lifts off the ground?” He replied and Howard snorted good naturally.

“See what I deal with?”

“He should be able to fly soon. Maybe carry someone in a few weeks.” Erskine told him, ignoring their bickering and his fingers hover over Tony’s large left wing that was neatly folded on his back. The dragon bopped his head and carefully opened one, allowing the doctor to study the joints.

“I don’t know. Tony isn’t a horse and the thought of someone riding him… is putting me off.” Howard huffed and noted that his companion’s horns grew, as did the spikes on his tail that looked more and more lethal.

“No, dragons just bond to one person, and in his case, you. You got a war dragon and instead of going out with the troops, you hang around here.” Colonel Phillips growled and Tony snapped his jaws at the officer’s general direction, warning the man to insult his bond-partner.

“Do I look like an animal to you? I do not enjoy killing, I rather like helping Howard with his projects.” Tony hissed and his claws scraped over a piece of metal and the high-pitched screeching forced the humans to cover their ears.

“At least learn to fly that menace. No one will ship your beast to Europe if you take him with you.”  
And while project Rebirth came along nicely, the machines and the serum forming under careful hands, and Tony throwing in his pennies too, Howard and he still worked on side projects, like remodeling the mansion so he could still fit, or finishing the preparation for the fair. Eventually Tony grew tall, and his wings strong enough to carry his own weight.

The first time he took off, Howard had brought him just outside the city and watched gleefully when Tony’s wings unfolded to their full size and the crimson scales shone threatening in the sun. A war dragon he was alright. And when Tony pressed to the ground to prepare for the leap, Stark had to swallow, because for all he knew, one day he would sit in front of these large wings and fly with Tony.  
The flight was an indescribable feeling, the wind beneath his wings carried him like he didn’t expect it to.

And then all went down, everything happened so fast. Project Rebirth rolled just weeks after the expo, where their hovercar crashed spectacularly, and Tony mulled over what went wrong while he couldn’t come with Howard to the project anymore because of his still increasing size. And then Howard was asked to fly out, help the troops. They hadn’t prepared for a long flight ever before, by that time Howard only sat twice on his shoulders, always rattled up once Tony landed again, but they flew, the human clad in winter clothes to keep the cold away, pressed on his back, the dragon outpacing most of the planes.  
Tony didn’t like the smell of war once they reached European soil. He constantly had to roll in mud so his scales wouldn’t accidentally attract enemy planes, or hide beneath a tarpaulin. Sometimes soldiers came and cried to him when no one was watching, on cold days they rather slept near him because the heat he was giving of could keep the cold at bay, but never once one of them curled up to him. These days the soldiers were more of friends than Howard who was constantly holed up somewhere if they weren’t moving.

And then one-night Howard marched up to him, followed but Margarethe ‘Peggy’ Carter and some soldier who reeked of the chemicals of Project Rebirth. Tony didn’t even raise his head, whatever they were planning, he didn’t want a part in it. Howard had neglected their bond and ignored him.

“Tony, Tony, wake up,” Howard asked, looking around like something was about to happen and the dragon opened one golden eye and huffed.

“What?” He growled and listened to their pleading, ignoring the fascinated and shocked face of the soldier.

“No.”

“What? Tony, you don’t know what is going on. Good men are out there… Steve, I told you about Steve, needs us to get him out there.”

“And you thought after weeks of gruff orders and ignoring me, I will just jump up and do as you say? No.”

“I am sorry, Tony, really. I know that wasn’t what you expected but we need your help now.” Howard hissed and the dragon reluctantly rolled over so they could reach the harness.  
Tony had to concentrate as he flew through the night because even if the dark red of his scales easily blend with the night, it didn’t stop the enemies to spot his shadow in the moonlight, and more than once he had to avoid bullets with neck breaking movements. Howard’s job on all of this was just to warn the others when he felt Tony’s movement shifting. And then the man named Steve just jumped and Howard asked him to turn around.

There was a lot of screaming once they landed in the morning, the MPs were not amused and Tony growled at those who dared to point their guns on him. Howard had the luck of being a civilian consultant and was let out of the ropes pretty easily. And for once Howard took time and looked over his scales that were broken by stray bullets hitting them, and the holes in the wings. They didn’t hurt but rather slowed down his flight until they properly healed. His clever engineer replaced the scales with scrap metal and some tape until they regrew, but the wings were too sensitive to find a temporary solution. It wouldn’t take too long to heal them either so Tony told Howard to leave them.  
A few days later Captain Rogers returned spectacularly with the missing soldiers and some weapons that stank of something fool. But at least the return of so many soldiers seemed to calm everyone.

Once the camp settled again Tony patiently let some of the soldiers put the tarpaulin over him. It was just like a giant blanket for him anyway. Once they left, he was alone and he dozed off, never really sleeping because every second the war could turn on them and he was their first response in an air strike on their camp. It surprised him when he took up the scent of someone nearing him, it bit in his nostrils just as sharp as the chemicals that mingled with Captain Rogers scent. He slightly lifted his head, the tarpaulin pooling around his shoulders, still keeping most of him out of sight but the man in front of him got a gist of him. The sharp inhale made Tony snicker and he lowered his head again to be eye to eye with whoever came up to him.

“Ugh… hi? Stevie, Captain Rogers told me something about a dragon.” The man muttered and Tony blinked at him, waiting for him to continue.

“I know it’s stupid, I just wanted to see if what my ma told me was true. She loved to tell stories about dragons, and I always wanted to see one. Stark is a damn lucky bastard.” The man continued at the dragon looked amused.

“And what did your mother tell you about my kind? It is rather hard to know more about dragons than the obvious.” He rumbled and the guy nearly choked on his own spit.  
So, the guy named James ‘Bucky’ Barnes stood there, introduced himself because it was only polite to introduce himself to someone who was just intelligent than a human and started to talk. At some point, Barnes shivered badly, and Tony lifted a wing to invite him to warm up at his belly, something he never had done before, but this Barnes guy seemed to be nice enough, and he was brave enough to snark back when Tony started.  
They continued their talking a lot, every other evening Barnes would sneak up to him, asking why he wouldn’t fly that day, telling him about missions, and at some point, Steve, worried Captain Rogers followed, and so did the rest of the Howling Commandos. Only Bucky curled up directly next to Tony, the others rather kept their distance, but they talked with him, asked how Howard was doing and so on. And only Bucky saw that Tony was treated like a pack horse these days, carrying most of the things that didn’t fit on their transporters, never did he fly, never did Howard come up and asked how he was doing since Bucky started to talk with the dragon, and it bothered the soldier. So, on another mission to take out HYDRA HQs, he asked Steve if they couldn’t bring Tony as a distraction.  
The captain wasn’t 100% with this idea, not wanting to risk Howard’s irking because he made the gear for the Howlies, but he suggested it to Howard who was all too eager to leave Tony in their care.

Tony wreaked havoc on HYDRA, and the Commandos, as well as the other soldiers under Phillips, watched in awe and fear when the dragon took the HQ apart, using his spiked tail as a deadly club to break in walls and enemies with teeth shattering force. Fire made the night to day and their commando cleaned up what was left. The beating of wings in the night was like war drums, giving them a beat to march forward.  
Bucky was the only one who felt like that the war dragon was finally in his element. He watched from his position and put out those who came dangerous enough to his friends, and his skin prickled in a way that it hadn’t done since he joined the war, the feel of seeing something right out of the myths in front of him, helping their cause, it was exciting.  
The Howlies shaped the war in their favor, going into war zones, hanging strapped to a dragon’s harness and raining hell from above, stalking through the forests to capture stray patrols. Steve once showed Tony a moment he needed to capture in a sketch that he found funny enough. It showed Bucky balancing on Tony’s head while the dragon tried to reach a tall tree, standing on his rear legs to get their sniper into the crown of the tree. Or a photograph of a war correspondent that showed Tony breathing out a small flame while some of the Howlies leaned over the flame and lightened their cigarettes. Colonel Phillips didn’t clear that picture for the public so it somehow ended up in Steve’s possession, as well a group picture of the Howling Commandos in front of Tony, wings spread around them like a shield, on his shoulder was the crest of the commando painted. Their band of misfits looked good together.

But besides the bad days there were days that were worse when death loomed over them. Not a single one of their Commando fell under Steve, but the war was getting to them, even Tony, no, most of all the dragon. Days like this ended with the Howlies shivering, all of them feeling cold and dread in their bones. Tony didn’t bother to wake up when they didn’t need to move. Against all believes the dragon did not enjoy killing, but right now he did his duty just like a soldier. Days like these had Bucky standing in front of the slumbering dragon, cold seeping in his bones even when he sat inches away from the campfire just seconds before. He only uttered the crimson dragon’s name once and the giant beast lifted a wing and would offer him a place. Even the Howlies had taken to sleeping right next to the dragon, but none of them was allowed to sleep underneath a wing.

It wasn’t until deep into winter, when they planned to get one of HYDRAs top scientists, that Bucky ran up to Tony, half-naked in the middle of winter and demanded to know what the meaning of a mark was. The dragon was startled out of his own thoughts, Steve lately had asked for his own input into plans, but when his eyes landed on the mark his brain shorted out. He never thought he would take to someone other than Howard but he had ignored the engineer slipping from him, and Bucky took over the place so easily.  
Around Barnes left shoulder curled a crimson dragon with a golden underbelly, a mark for a bond formed between a dragon and a human. Tony still could feel Howard, but just like Howard’s mark that just showed red and golden scales instead of the full thing, it was incomplete. Bucky he could feel, the heartbeat racing in the man’s chest, the quickened breath, the boiling emotions. Tony bared his teeth in a draconic grin and explained it to his soldier, pride swelling in his chest. Being bonded to James Barnes wasn’t bad at all.  
But then Bucky fell, just days later, the connection cut just as fast as it came. He had flown Steve through the alps to find the body, but for once the dragon felt his strength crumble, the cold seeping into him and muffling his fire. He grieved, he and Steve grieved alone from the rest, the soldier trying to drink himself stupid with little success and the dragon roaring like an angry wounded animal. He didn’t tell Howard that he had a connection to Bucky, and Howard never asked, because his mark hadn’t disappeared and it was all Tony could cling to.

There was one last attack, HYDRAs last base, but Steve commanded Tony to stay back because they didn’t want HYDRA to get him into their hands, and so he was stuck with pacing in front of the latest allied base like a guard dog until Howard came storming out, barking commands at him and pulling himself into the harness that never was taken from Tony during the war.  
And Tony followed. He flew Howard out over the northern Atlantic six times within 3 days, only a few hours of rest in between when his wings started to tire. After another flight, Howard angrily commanded him to fly back to the base.  
Tony was foaming around his muzzle when he landed, collapsing right on the spot when his legs gave up under his weight. A brit was walking up to them in quick step with a bucket full water and Howard scowled at the stranger when the brit angrily started to argue with him, and then Howard walked off, cutting the angry shouting short, to report that they had lost Captain Rogers.  
The British man slowly ran his hand over Tony’s muzzle and then calmly asked the dragon to drink. He just opened his maw and greedily gulped the water that the man poured into him.

“I am Edwin Jarvis. And mister Stark kind of just hired me to take care of you. I guess it is master Stark now because he hired me as a butler?” The man told him in a low voice, a bit irritated.

Jarvis helped him to get his strength back enough to fly back to the states. Howard was assigned to a new project, one even more destructive than Project Rebirth, but he wouldn’t tell Tony anything about it. It was just him, Jarvis and a woman that accompanied his caretaker who lately stayed in the mansion. Jarvis explained his history, that his father was once a caretaker of the royal dragons of England before they died in World War I and that’s how he knew so much about them, he also told Tony how he disobeyed orders to rescue Ana, that he was dishonorably discharged but ended up lucky to be here.

When the war was won Howard returned, still angry and bitter, but he seemed to settle a bit. What they had before never really seemed to come back, the war hadn’t only taken a part of the dragon’s heart and fire when it had claimed Bucky, it had taken what was left of the connection with Howard, leaving it empty and hallow, the feelings of the human so muted they were barely there anymore. Jarvis kept him good company, and Ana who was employed by Howard too, but thanks to Edwin she could take some time off and enjoyed to fly with him every now and then. It was the only time when he could stretch his wings when the Howlies didn’t decide to visit and asked to fly for the old times' sake.  
Strangely enough Peggy Carter took on visiting him often, she just sat on one of his legs, reading files, and mumbled, every so often they exchanged how much they missed Steve or Bucky, she told him about SHIELD and how they slowly formed under her care, and that she wished that Tony could be there because he could put some fear into the younger ones. He liked her visits a lot because she treated him like he was not different, just a bit overgrown.

Maria came along and she was lovely, dashingly young, at least 10 years younger than Howard, but she wasn’t bothered by him, even taught him how to speak Italian with a patience of a woman who had all time of the world. Maria lulled him with piano music and even tried to teach him fine etiquette, whenever she dined on the porch. Jarvis and Ana often watched amused and they loved to laugh about the simplest things. At least it somehow made Howard’s obsession to find the Captain or to push Stark Industries to new highs more bearable.  
When Howard started to bring over Obadiah Stane, things took an even worse turn. While Tony clung to the last shreds of their bond, he growled and snapped at Howard’s new business partner whenever he came over. Obadiah was a poisonous snake, and he was poisoning Howard. Stane only once dared to step closer to the dragon, when they held a garden party.

“You didn’t tell me you had a dragon, Howard! Thought they were only myths, but according to them they are great to fly into a war.” Obadiah awed and Tony raised his head from his paws to get a closer look at the man.

“Anthony flew the Howling Commandos into the battle quite often.”

“And why are you not giving him to the Air Force? I mean, the guys are quite new but they could need the firepower of a dragon.” Stane suggested and Tony rumbled lowly. It wasn’t quite a growl but he didn’t like the turn this conversation.

“It isn’t that easy, Obie, my father gave him to me, he is mine.”

“That beast is a weapon, Howard!” And when Howard didn’t defend Tony, the dragon roared and raised from underneath his carport. Obadiah had to flee to the porch because the dragon took over the whole garden, claws digging into the fin trimmed lawn, and the scales on edge. Tony could see Jarvis coming to aid to calm him down because even then Howard didn’t try to reach out. Tony snapped at the butler and opened his wings to take off.

In the end, it was Peggy Carter and some young agents who found him curled up in a forest beyond upstate New York. She smiled sadly when she climbed over a fallen tree to cross the few feet to reach him. Her hand against his quivering flank slowly brought him back out of his rage and he uncurled a bit to let her sit on her favorite place. She told him that Edwin had called and told her everything and that she ended up raging at Howard.

“Oh, Tony.” She had whispered, “You fall in love with those you care. It doesn’t need to be romantical love, but you love them just as much.”  
He huffed at her, not quite understanding what she meant with her words, and Peggy’s smile turned from sad to lovingly, as an elder sister would smile at a stubborn younger brother that had a crush on someone.

“With Howard, it is the love of father and son. He was the first thing you saw, and you latched onto him. At some point, kids become rebellious, demand the love and attention they can get, even if it looks like they are fighting with their parents. I had wondered when you will fight for Howard’s attention, but this turnout was really bad. But Bucky? I swear, if you had been Howard’s real son, around Steve and Bucky’s age, you three would have been like a house on fire. Steve loved Bucky like a brother, but for you? I think if he was more than a friend. Steve… well, he told me about Bucky’s mark after Bucky had told Steve, mind you, and I wondered after all Erskine told Howard with a dragon just bonding to one person.”  
Tony hummed lowly, it still hurt talking about Steve and Bucky like this, but Peggy was gentle, her own hurt feeling slowly healing these days.

“Bucky treated you like a person, not a beast.” She claimed and Tony agreed.  
Tony spent a few weeks with Peggy and her agents. Agent Carter had the fine idea to train her agents with unusual situations, and more than once she involved letting Tony chase them. The dragon had fun scaring some of the recruits for life, and it gave him something to do. Just once a cadet sneered at the dragon for being a dumb beast, but Peggy had shown him the ropes, and more than once Tony showed that he could go head to head with genius level people, so the dragon got the respect he deserved easily enough.

Maria’s pregnancy was what go Tony to move home. He was happy for her, and in extension Howard too. The whole house glowed and for a while, everything seemed good. But Maria lost the child shortly before the second trimester started. Similar ended the second pregnancy too. Tony mourned with Maria, who would play sad songs and he would curl around her when she decided to visit him in the garden. She told him about how much she wanted a child of her own, how she thought that it would bring Howard back to them. Tony hated to see her hurt like this. A year and a half later Maria expected another child, and they celebrated the announcement with a few guests, Peggy and the remaining Howlies visited, but because Obadiah was there the party was gathered inside. The evening went on and Peggy came up to him and petted his muzzle.

“A shame that Howard still holds you like a glorified pet, Tony.” She expressed her anger, her voice a bit slurred from the amount of alcohol that she might have or haven’t drunk and Tony chuckled at her.

“Got nowhere to go, Pegs.” He told her with a yawn and she sneered.

“Could choose someone who would worship every step you take. Like Barnes. He babbled a lot about you, and how amazing it was to actually get to know a dragon.”

“Well, yes, but we cannot all have a Bucky, can we? Either way, Peggy, do make sure that Howard gives the kid a good name, not something ridiculous like his machines, will ya?” He asked her and she nodded gravely. Tony watched her slowly going back inside, and then stood up from his place under the carport and ruffled his wings. Maybe he still could do one good thing.

* * *

 

_On May the 29th Anthony Edward Stark was born. There were a lot of voices against naming the boy after the dragon because after it was clear that the crimson dragon vanished from earth Howard grieved even more, but when little Tony was born the mark of a dragon spread over his chest, a crimson dragon curled over the space directly over his heart._


	2. Still Air

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter count got up! Sorry guys for the long wait, but things sometimes just need a while to develope. Have fun.  
> Fair warning, no beta so far. I will eventually correct missspelling when I have time.

_On May the 29 th Anthony Edward Stark was born. There were a lot of voices against naming the boy after the dragon, because after it was clear that the crimson dragon vanished from earth Howard grieved even more, but when little Tony was born the mark of a dragon spread over his chest, a crimson dragon curled over the space directly over his heart._

* * *

 

Later Aunt Peggy would tell him that it meant that he had the heart of a dragon, and loved like one, his uncles and Jarvis would deliver him the wildest stories about the dragon Tony carrying Captain America and his band of misfit soldiers into the fight. He would dream a lot about these things, cuddled to a ‘Bucky Bear’ Ana made for him.

Tony was a child prodigy, building and understanding things that adults had trouble with as soon as he could grab them. He was curious, and at some point, it led to Tony’s first major project, a circuit board. The child didn’t understand why his father reacted so cold towards him, and when his father put it away without a second look at the accomplishment of his son it saddened the young kid.  
And Tony grew, grew with disappointment and Howard’s absence, grew with the need to do better, be faster, stronger, be like the good old Captain. It was Captain America here, and Captain America there. Instead of teaching him, he was sent to boarding school, instead of having a supporting father Howard put him down in favor of his own goals.

Jarvis, Ana, his mother and aunt Peggy tried their best to give Tony a relatively good childhood, and the young boy learned fast enough not to complain, but he took Howard’s disappointment and tried to do better. He smiled for the public, but raged on the inside.  
He learned to find other outlets for his rage, and he left for Boston to be the youngest student MIT had seen so far. He was often found in an inventing binge in the labs, creating the impossible just to shove it into Howard’s face.

But Tony was impressionable, 16 years old and easily swayed, and all what Tony really needed were friends, and that desperately. He had bad luck in that department, because his so-called friends turned more than once on him, and they had played him like a fiddle easy enough, leaving him behind broken and in pieces, clinging to alcohol to ease the pain that raged in his heart.

And then Rhodey came along.

Brave and strong Rhodey, who had picked up the pieces and had taken his time to put them together. Tony’s trust to people was shot to hell at this point, but Rhodey stayed, never left and had bugged him to open up. Rhodey had put him straight, told him to march on, and Tony took it to heart. Rhodey was the first one outside his family to know about the dragon mark, what resulted into ridiculous nicknames that ended in their daily squabbling.  
A few weeks later DUM-E was born, the media putting up a new frenzy around him, Tony smiled and went on, ignoring the itching right above his heart were the mark of a dragon still sat.

Losing his parents just after another ‘fight’ with Howard felt terrible. And Tony howled when the news reached him, trashing the mansion in desperate need to feel alive, because with Howard gone, who did he need to fight? Howard’s calculating and cold ways were the tinder to his rage that pushed him forward. With Maria gone, he lost a shoulder to cry, peaceful evenings lounging around her when she played piano, or spoke in soft Italian to him, someone who cared.  
Jarvis and Ana stayed. But even they would be eventually gone, Ana being the first when cancer took her away, leaving Tony and Jarvis alone in the big mansion.

Obadiah Stane lingered in the shadows, and even when Tony knew him all his life, because the man wasn’t far from where Howard was, it was just right after his parents were put six feet under that Stane pushed himself into Tony’s life. He told the teenage boy he would take over Stark Industries until Tony was old enough, and the last Stark accepted it with a shrug, not knowing how to reply. Rhodey, who had accompanied him that day had hissed to his friend to watch out, but Tony was to numb to take it to heart.

The world was his playground, and sooner than later he had to go back to reality. He finished his doctorates, because his father’s will be said that the company would be his when he turned 21, not a day earlier, and then he pushed Stane out of his throne. SI bloomed under Tony’s never-ending ideas. Jarvis kept him grounded, but the idea of Rhodey being out there, Rhodey the soldier that Tony never could be, Rhodey the guy that had no real wings but flew like a dragon into battle, keeping his best friend save was his new aim.

Then came Virginia ‘Pepper’ Potts along. Pepper was all deadly grace, sharp witted and not ashamed to talk back, and she didn’t fall or swooned in front of or for Tony. Her green eyes blazed when she zapped a guard that dared to try and stop her when she stepped inside his office.

“You made a mistake” she declared and threw the papers right in front of him, and Tony made the best decision of his life and hired her right then and there. Pepper was the rock against wild sea that only Jarvis could top. Pepper and Jarvis together were a lethal combination.  
Later he got to know Harold ‘Happy’ Hogan, who became his bodyguard and personal chauffeur, because he mistook Happy’s ratty yellow car with a cab and the man drove him without complaining, even managed to spare Tony the rush hour traffic like a pro. He started to realize his mistake halfway through the drive, because he had to take an urgent phone call and ignored Happy’s protest when he stumbled into the car. Once he ended the call they talked, and Tony being himself, he gave Happy a chance, and never regretted it.

Yes, Tony partied, and he had some reckless wild nights, but not as wild as the media loved them to make. Tony Stark, the CEO of Stark Industries, was an unpredictable man, deciding on the whim, producing the best of the best. Those who knew the real Tony Stark knew that he was a man with a dragon’s heart, that only few could claim for themselves. And it was hard, when Tony had to bid Jarvis his last goodbye. His father in all but blood died suddenly, because Jarvis was old, and people died. The grief nearly destroyed the genius, but he came back with a sentimental smile and J.A.R.V.I.S. watching his every step now. JARVIS, or _Just A Rather Very Intelligent System_ , was a learning AI, that now kept watch over Tony’s systems, over the unruly DUM-E, Butterfingers and U that came along sometimes after DUM-E’s creation, as well as the newly build Malibu house. New York started to bring back bad memories and he really needed a change.

So, Tony kept marching on, marching into the future and shaping the world under his fingers. Or rather warfare. They gave him titles, none of them ever appealing to the genius, none of them fitting. He became the ‘Merchant of Death’ and hated the title, but at this point his skin was thick as scales towards the media.

That was until he fell into the hands of terrorists.

Ho Yinsen, was there when he woke up, trying to calm him down from the panic that rose when he found himself in the darkness of a cave. The last moments before the attack, before he blacked out in the Afghan dessert were like a nightmare, not feeling real but at the same time too real to not be true. His chest hurt, burned like fire to be exactly, and ripping the tube out of his nose wasn’t his best idea either. Then Yinsen explained what he had done to Tony, and the engineer had to cope with all of that. 

“I have never seen a dragon’s mark before, and it was not common knowledge that you have a dragon, Tony.” The elderly man said, once they agreed to call each other by their first name because they are stuck in this together, and Tony had to look at his still bare chest. Where the dragon once rested above his heart it now curled around the magnet casing.

“I didn’t know that it would change, but no, I don’t have dragon. That mark has been there all my life.” He mumbled and Yinsen nodded.

“Well, it seems you have a guardian angel, or dragon, out there because I wouldn’t have believed that someone would survive open heart surgery in a cave. Other than your higher than normal heartrate, the reduced lung capacity, broken rips, missing parts of your sternum and the shrapnel still stuck in your chest you don’t show signs of inflammation what should be guaranteed with not sterilized equipment. It will take time for the muscle and chest to heal, so please, rest.” The man listed the clinical facts and gave Tony a pointed look. He dropped back into the ratty cot and tested how deep he could breathe until it hurt. And it hurt even without trying to drag in deep breaths.

The terrorists that called themselves the Ten Rings had other plans for him, and he refused to comply. He smiled sadly when Yinsen called him a ‘Dragonheart’, too brave and stubborn to give up. He swore he heard Pepper and Rhodey whenever they nearly drowned him. Yinsen kept telling him that everyone else would have been dead by now, and even with the abuse he kept getting from his captors his wounds healed, and at some points his head was clear enough of pain to think.

And the first suit was born. With the Arc Reactor in his chest and metal wrapped around him he fought. The fire felt good to him, like it belonged instead of the rage he felt for Yinsen’s death, but metal wasn’t isolating the heat, and he had to leave the burning camp before he went down with it.  
The landing was less than ideal, but once he got himself out of the sand, he could taste freedom.  
Tony kept wandering over sand dunes for hours, the leather jacket he had wrapped around his head to not fry the last brain cells that he could spare was barley a protection at all.

They found him. He didn’t realize the chopper until it flew right over him, the downwind of the rotors kicking up sand around hit but someone commanded it to cut the engines as soon as they landed and soldiers poured out of it. One of them was the first friendly face in over 3 months that Tony had seen, and he couldn’t help but to sob into Rhodey’s protective shoulder.

Tony denied the army to keep sticking needles in him as soon as the IVs had pumped fluids in him and even more, he denied them to inspect the Arc Reactor. He made a deal with them so he would tell Rhodey the basics and that it was indeed not a bomb in his chest.  
Most of all he needed a long shower, a shave and some food that didn’t upset his stomach too much after months of starvation, not exactly in that order.

“You got a serious case of babyface underneath that beard, and I should know because I know your babyface.” Rhodey joked when he emerged from his stint to the bathroom, and he couldn’t deny it really. At least Rhodey slowly took in that he was back and tried his best to not pity him.

Tony was glad that it took the military long enough to clear his missing status that he could grow back his usual goatee in time for his return to the states. He knew what followed would turn SI upside down, the military was unhappy, Obadiah was unhappy and Pepper has no words for him when he pushed forward and announced that he would no longer produce weapons. His return was spectacular in a way that SI stocks took a dive and everyone assumed that the sun fried his brain. But Tony was good in denial, he ignored the lingering effects of being kidnapped and tortured for 3 months to give the media his best smile, showing that nothing could bring him down, even if he longed to be back in his house and curl up around on of his bots while JARVIS rattled of facts for him, just so he knew he was safe.  
Once everyone left him alone he did just that, JARVIS scanned him to get the whole damage that was done to him, while Tony curled on the couch in the shop and petted DUM-E and U’s struts. The low beeping and whining sounded like they were just as anxious as him.

The report was like he expected, the damage was done, and JARVIS even told him that there has been a change to his DNA sequence that would most likely result in him not being able to have kids, that was something he didn’t mind as much, but it still made him sad. The chance that it would result in cancer on the other hand was bordering zero. He also needed to get the prototype out and build a better one because a wire that they kept in there was now giving of small shocks.  
Beyond the physical damage he ignored everything else that JARVIS listed, he just got a glimpse on the psychological diagnosis which was vague at best, but the top of the list, PTSD, well he was good at denying that.

He went on, he put on the suit and learned how to fly. Reaching for the sky calmed something within him that he didn’t know that it was there, like a muscle he didn’t use. The flight around Malibu was exhilarating, and the adrenalin from the freefall because of the icing problem gave him a kick that he thought was impossible.  
And with the suit came the combat.  
Pepper swore that when she found him with bullet holes in the suit that he was purring like a cat, and that she didn’t like it all. Rhodey and the agents told him after the fight with Obadiah that he roared during the fight, and after the press conference where Tony boldly announced that he was Iron Man Rhodey told him he really should have called himself Dragonheart, and the engineer knew that they were good again.

But new problems already waited for him. There was not such a thing as a peaceful moment after he became public with his status as self-made hero. The state wanted to rip the suits out if his hand, JARVIS detected that his body was slowly but surely poisoned by the only thing that kept him alive and his personal war with the remaining Ten Rings as well as the Stark Expo that should bring back SI on its feet put a toll on him.  
His time was limited now, nothing replacing the palladium in the reactor core. He should have shown signs of the poisoning earlier according to JARVIS but his body had tried to purge it nearly 1 year before it finally had to give in. The excessive use of the armor made it worse but he just couldn’t lay down and wait for his time to come. Tony knew his decisions were reckless to the outside, Pepper didn’t understand him, Rhodey was angry and his new assistant was a lying lair who lies. Vanko had a point when he said that palladium poisoning was an ugly death, and Justin Hammer just seemed to rub it in.

He never counted that his old man would save his life on day. Howard’s message was… it was helping to give his father a bit warmer side. He hissed at Agent Coulson when the man tried to question his newest reckless decision and went on to create the one thing that was able to bring him back into the game. And his body accepted it without a major fit, ignoring the metal and coconut taste when it purged his bloodstream from most of the poisoning. It was fairly easy to get Hammer arrested, but Vanko wouldn’t go down without a fight. Tag teaming with Rhodey felt good, better than good.

Pepper gave him a chance afterwards. They would try even if their relationship already was high maintenance, but it made both of them happy for a while. Projects piled on Tony’s desk now that he was mainly the R&D head. Personal he put JARVIS into upgrading the suit under his guidance and research everything that Howard and anyone else had ever wrote over dragons. He could no longer deny the mark on his chest, because it has been acting up ever since he became Iron Man, itching like crazy every other moment. He also needed to get the “Purring and Hissing” problem under control according to Pepper who found it funny enough to get him purring whenever they had a moment for themselves.   
SI would get its new landmark in a literally sense with Stark Tower. It would become the symbol of clean energy and futuristic way they would go.

That was until Agent Coulson strut in without clearance and handed him a file. The Avenger Initiative was stomped into the ground the last time Tony heard from SHIELD, but whatever happened needed him, not as a consultant but as active member. He nearly growled when the agent whisked Pepper away and left him alone to gather information.  
And when the alarm bells went off, Loki forcing his way on people to get what he wanted, because he was a queen size diva.  
The whole gathering felt toxic and it irked Tony how Rogers seemed to expect something from him, that wasn’t him. And from moment to the other it went all to hell, he was grinded between rotors of the hellicarrier, thrown out of the window, and fought against a hoard of aliens.

And then there was the missile. A nuke that would destroy the city he protected, a city he called home and was the home of millions of people. So when Natasha called that she had a way to close the portal he saw the only chance to avoid to loose his home, and took the nuke to only place it would be useful. This was a one-way trip, but rather him, than so many others.

The soul of a dragon. That is what Thor called him when he woke up again, strong and brave as one. Rogers looked like he had swallowed something hard but at least he looked happier, battleworn and relaxed. The expression on Caps face felt strangely familiar and calmed Tony’s racing pulse. They gathered the last bit of strength and collected their spoils of war.

That a mistake of the past would bite him royally in the ass. Not only was he declared dead after terrorists bombed his house into the ocean, he had to learn that he wasn’t the suit, that he still had all these things that brought him out of Afghanistan, he was a tinkerer, a mad scientist in some people opinion, and not defined through the metal.  
So he rescued Pepper, stabilized Extremis, and finally managed to get the life threatening metal out of his chest.

The doctors’, and even Bruce’s, strict orders was to rest, let himself heal from that invasive surgency, but the good doctor that now was a permanent part of Tony’s life was quick to pick up changes and when he came to check on his friend and Tony was literally burning up he worried. But for the inventor nothing felt out of place, nothing wrong with his body, even the scaring looked better then expected, even if he wouldn’t let himself being caught topless in public anymore.  
The only thing was that more nights then not he woke up restless, but that was nothing new to him. At least whatever he dreamed, because he never could remember these dreams, it chased away the memories of a gaping portal over New York, or dark caves in the dessert.

“If your temperature raises anymore your cells will carbonize themselves.” Bruce uttered one day worried.

“I feel fine, Bruce, seriously. It could be a side effect of Extremis. Thought I stabilized it enough.”

“You should take that more seriously Tony.”

“I am taking this serious, Brucie. If I wouldn’t take it seriously, I would have exploded twelve times by now, and I saw that. I am feeling fine, great even. At least I can breathe better.”

“Your lungs feel better? Reduced capacity isn’t really curable.”

So, he allowed Bruce to take a sample, just to look what could be wrong with him, but there was still enough Avengers business so no one really took more time for that problem.  
Until the problem took care of itself.

The villain of the week, some wannabe Loki with magic tricks dropped a whole building on Tony. His radio was taken out, the suit crushed under the weight and crushing him even worse. He was never claustrophobic, but it felt too tight, too dark, his whole mind screaming _wrong, wrong, wrong_. And then he screamed, and it sounded like a roar.

He didn’t feel himself shift, but what he noticed was the sudden change of height and the loss of the tightness from his undersuit.

It felt like freedom.

He shook the concrete from himself, huge wings flapped open and the wind caught in them. It felt natural to take to the skies, instincts running wild. That was until an arrow exploded right in his face. He angrily snapped around and took a deep breath, igniting the fire within, and letting go.  
A hammer hit him square in the face and Tony roared in pain at the attack, growling at the god that looked down on him.

“Friend, you need to not let run instincts your mind.” Thor yelled and waited for the dragon to react.

“What do you mean, friend?!” Someone yelled from the rooftop of one of the buildings and Tony took the chance to clear room for his wings, and he roared enthusiastically, taking in the sun that hit his scales.

“It couldn’t have been subtler. Hey, where is Cap?” Clint groaned.

“Shoot another arrow after me, Barton, and Thor will not stop me again to make you chicken flambé, you hear me?” Tony growled and chased the archer from his perch to land on the roof.

“Hello, overgrow lizard? I thought that the wizard from Oz, I don’t know, forced you to change? I mean, man, dragon? What the hell?”

“It is simple, a dragon’s soul within a mortal body. A dragon that chooses to serve as a guardian in another life that helps friend Anthony to survive by merging with him.”

“My father… he owned a dragon, I actually was named after him.” Tony muttered.

“No one owns a dragon. They are the guardians of their realm, and you friend Anthony seems to be the last of earth. They are born in times of need, for one to let its soul bond with a mortal one to become one is a rare privilege.” Thor growled and Tony huffed.

“Ugh, Natasha is going to chew us out for abandoning the mission. She has Steve and well, he lost his com so he doesn’t know what happened here.” Clint informed them and they nodded.

“And our Code Green? I don’t really want to face the Hulk right now.” The dragon asked warily but Thor gave him the thumps up, literally, and flew off to join the rest of the team on the meeting point. Clint gave him the biggest puppy eyes in the world.

“Don’t make this a habit, Barton, I am not a horse. We also need to grab the rest of the armor.” He snorted and the archer happily climbed up the ruby red scales and took position right in front of the wings. In a strange way the archer felt too lithe, not right on that place, like someone heavier used to take this place, but Tony ignored the feeling and they dived back to the street where the rubble exposed the ripped open armor, that he grabbed in his clawed front paws.

Tony didn’t expect that the Captain would go down on his knees when they arrived and started to sob ugly. It didn’t feel right that Steve bailed his eyes out, and then more or less snapped at Hawkeye to get down from Tony’s shoulders. Natasha reminded them that they still were in the open and should discuss this in private, while Bruce starred in wonder at him. So, they did just that and ended on the balcony because, even if the walls of his suite were tall, it didn’t fit for a full-grown dragon.

“Well, this is embarrassing.” Tony huffed and Bruce was the first to react.

“Did you try to relax? I mean… if this is anything like Code Green, try to relax?”

“I am relaxed.” He growled in response. Natasha and Clint hushed to each other, questioning if it was something permanent while Steve and Thor didn’t have any idea how to help him.

“Think about yourself changing then?”

And that was the magic trick, quite literal as Thor informed them, because dragons are creatures of magic and unlike the Hulk his transformation didn’t come from physical change but from whatever magic a dragon had.  And it left him…naked as the day he was born, which ended up with a blushing 90 years old virgin, a flustered doctor and two unimpressed agents, while Thor laughed. Tony wasn’t ashamed so he pushed past them and grabbed the couch blanket and covered himself up.

“Do we now have a Code Green and a Code Red’n’Gold? Because? That would be amazing.”

“It wouldn’t be. And no. I shouldn’t face off with the Hulk on a bad day, nothing against you Bruce, I might understand you better than ever before, but Iron Man is going to be my priority. Well, Pep is going to skin me anyway because we now need to explain, why there was a red and gold dragon instead of the armor. Another point is that I am actually BIGGER than the Hulk, and in a city being a dragon would be … quite hindering my movements.”

“Tony is right. As much as I want to rather have him being the tank of the team and just let Code Green retire, we both are more vulnerable when changed.”

“I remembered that bullets could shatter scales. They were quite hard to treat.” Steve muttered and Bruce sighed.

“And we have enemies that use stronger weapons then something loaded with bullets.” Clint said and Tony growled.

“Like explosive arrows.” Tony frowned and Clint sheepishly smiled, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment.

“To get back to the point, I also wanted to add that I run more on instincts. I would have attacked if I didn’t remember that Thor was part of the team. So, dragon me might have to train a bit.”

And they left it with the decision that for now Tony shouldn’t change in a city battle, and only if really nothing else will help. But as time went on, and the Avengers mostly went back to their daytime job, Tony found himself more often lounging as a dragon in the sun. The rebuild Malibu residence was the best place to do that, but every now and then he found himself just outside of New York on a free plot of land that was owned by Stark Industries.

It hadn’t taken long for Tony to find himself once again before the newest secretary of defense, snarking off the man how he wasn’t a mutant and more like a shapeshifter. They demanded a lot, from once again giving up the armor, something that was shot down just minutes after the court brought it up, to him giving up some blood samples. Tony told them what they needed them, told them to fuck off, and once again went out of court victorious.

Tony still followed his duties as Iron Man, there were enough single missions for him, or missions where he accompanied Rhodey, but the dreams he kept getting from… well his draconic new side, made him longing for the real feeling of wind underneath big wings.

At least it somehow got him and the good Captain in a better relation. They still didn’t look eye to eye with each other every so often, even with the memories two lifetimes full of scorning and Howard’s dismissive nature, of being left behind and only having so few people to trust. But they understood the other better, or on Steve’s side tried to understand.

It wasn’t a surprise to see the Captain visiting Peggy. Tony had taken care of the bill ever since his Aunt was diagnosed mental deterioration, and every so often he tried to visit her, but it was a painful reminder every time he saw his strong aunt like this.

“Think we can take her for a trip outside?” Tony asked Steve who looked shocked at the suggestion, but then eagerly nodded and then went off to chase down a nurse to ask if it was possible. He came back shining like the sun and Tony huffed amused when they helped Peggy to the car. She was clear minded and happy to have a few hours outside.  
Tony drove them to a deserted place and Peggy became wary. Tony took off as much clothes as he could, while Steve distracted her. Peggy scowled at him when he waved them, only clad in his boxers. He let himself change, a thing that neither JARVIS, Bruce or he could fully understand how, and heard Peggy gasp. She tried to reach for him, but years of SHIELD had taught her better then to just touch him.

“Well, it is me, Pegs, and it isn’t. I don’t know how to explain it.” He said softly and laid his rather large head next to her.

“I should have… known that you would do something so reckless. Thank you, Tony, for showing me.” She said just as softly and finally laid a small hand on his muzzle.

“You grew.”

“I don’t really remember how tall I was before I decided to become human, but I guess? At least I can breathe fire. Nearly scared me shitless when my temperature raised.”

“Language, young man.” She scolded and he laughed, puffs of smoke escaping his nostrils.

“Yes mam’.”

Tony offered her to fly for her but she didn’t take it, knowing better then to get her old heart racing like this, even if she would have liked it. It still didn’t stop her to cry a bit, tears of happiness and a bit of sadness. She asked Steve to give them a moment and the soldier left them for the moment. Peggy took a seat on one of his front legs and leaned against his golden chest with a heavy sigh.

“Tony, whatever will happen in the future, don’t take it too badly.”

“Why would I?”

“You changed so much over the years, and I don’t want you to become hurt by actions that were not in your hands. And don’t trust SHIELD. For all I taught you, don’t trust anyone that wasn’t vetted by you personally, you understand me?” She pleaded and the half-ling blinked at her curiously, but agreed.

He changed back, out of Peggy’s sight and drove her back.

Just a few days later Peggy Carter died peacefully in her sleep and Tony cried for her, even when he knew that she had lived her life fully. And with Peggy’s death everything fell apart. He watched live how Natasha and Steve brought SHIELD, a disguise for HYDRA, to its knees, watched how project INSIDE, something JARVIS had warned him to keep an eye on it, was destroyed. But what he didn’t saw, but clearly felt, was someone important returning to their little game of chess against HYDRA.

He wasn’t surprised when Steve came storming up to him and straight out yelled that they should search for Bucky. He was just relaxing in his freshly rebuild house in Malibu and let the sun warm his scales.  
It made Tony raise his hackles, the memory of Howard pushing him to his limits and nearly drowning both of them in the Northern Atlantic in the process, and he knew, he _just knew_ that it wasn’t the same Bucky Barnes they had known, and he had already decided that he wouldn’t take on a _Bond_ anymore. Or chase after an old one. Howard had showed him just how bad Bonds could be, and he didn’t need one, he was at least somewhat human, and didn’t depend on any of them now.

“No.” He said in a dismissive tone.

“You would chase after Rhodes if he was in Bucky’s place just fine! Tony, you bonded with him, did you forget?”

“I did not, Steve, forget I mean, but this isn’t Bucky Barnes, this guy is a brainwashed weapon that doesn’t know who he is, and is on the search of himself. He will come to you when he feels ready.” He growled, scales standing on edge like a cat ready to strike, claws digging into the floor with a screeching sound. The good Captain scowled at him and Tony’s growl merged into a threating hiss.

“You know better than to aggravate me.”

“So you don’t care? That HYDRA could get him back? Use him to kill again, like he did with your parents?” Steve shouted and immediately froze. Tony jumped from his place and snapped at Steve, razor sharp teeth smashing right in front of the frightened man.

“Don’t you think I wouldn’t have noticed that in the data-dump you left me to sort out? I KNOW! I Fucking know, Steve. I know that Barnes has changed, I will not chase him for what he has done. He was the weapon, and a weapon is not at fault for the acts of the one who uses it.” He huffed and let himself drop back to his resting place.

“If it gives you some peace, he is doing fine. The bond is still there, barely, but it is still there. Thought it would be gone with me being… well me.” He muttered and the super soldier calmed. Steve stepped forward, warily stretching his hand to lay it on Tony’s muzzle, ignoring the puff of smoke that the dragon produced in annoyance. The huge beast rumbled and allowed Steve to lean against his shoulder.

“I didn’t mean to push you, I am sorry. Just… Bucky and Hydra…”

Tony didn’t reply, to him, just hummed peacefully a song that Jarvis had sung to calm him. He was sure this wasn’t the last time that they would see Barnes.

Barnes actually showed up earlier than Steve had hoped and too soon for Tony’s taste. Once again, they were in an Avengers related battle, Bruce was out of this fight, and they needed a tank. Thankfully the villain of the week chose the Times Square, there was enough space for him to fly without destroying anything too relevant. Just his luck that the enemy was grounded and that he couldn’t just burn them down, paying of the city of New York for setting the time square was nothing he would like to do.

A grounded dragon was a dead dragon.

Most off all when he didn’t have a lot of experience in fighting on the ground, and that being a dragon still felt foreign even when he had a lot of experience form his first lifetime.  
The Avengers weren’t the Howlies, he didn’t wear a harness anymore where he just could transport them over their enemy and let hell rain down on them. At least the upgrade of the armor protected his chest and lower neck. He had made the newest armor so that it would stay with him all the time and shift with him. But it didn’t protect him quite as good as it did when he would fly in it.

Their enemy had summoned some mythical creatures from one of the nine realms, they looked like lizards, horned all over the body and a bit like rams. A single stripe of fur ran down their spine. Thor had called them bilgesnipes, but even he wasn’t amused to see the mass the man had summoned.  
Tony had hissed over his remodeled coms to Clint that he better shut with comparing him to these mindless beasts, but the archer had enough problems on his own. These beasts had managed to separate them at some point, and their numbers increased every other minute. Tony thought he did rather well, snapping, clawing and batting them away with claws and tail, but just like him they had scales, or a rather thick leather as skin, and were much sturdier than they looked. They gained ground and soon his instincts were screaming to take off, but the moment he let them take over and his wings snapped open, one of these things bit into them, forcing him to roar in pain.

A single shot brought the whole area to hold for a second. Tony looked surprised when the bilgesnipe that had gnawed on his wing just a second ago dropped dead into the mass of its species. He was free, even if the bleeding bite would bother him, he took off and shook them off him. He felt something on the edge of the bond, and took after it, instincts screaming so loudly that they nearly took over his rational and calculating thoughts. Once he reached the edge of the highest building on the Times Square, he let himself drop like a stone, wings clutched to his flanks and fire building in his throat. He noticed too late the battle cry of someone who clutched himself on the crook between spine and wings. His mind raced, the weight of whoever clutched to him didn’t belong to either Clint or Steve, the only ones who would dare to jump on him like this, yet it was familiar in a strange way.

The sound of a gun going off bothered him, but he wouldn’t let his teammates suffer while he didn’t take action. He would be dammed, New York could pay for a bit of electricity, he might as well include to offer a year worth of the energy his newest ARC reactor produced for the tower if it covered the costs for the repairs. The reactor certainly could cover the whole block with easy too.

Hellfire came over these beasts, bullets where shot and whoever climbed on his scales was quick and agile enough not to bother his flight while they gripped on the edge of the armor to not accidentally shoot him in the process.  
They managed to free Thor first, and the god of thunder wasn’t amused at all. Natasha and Clint were able to rescue themselves on a high ground, but their weapons were empty which left them rather useless for now. Steve… Steve fought and fought bravely, Tony gained speed, his wings beating fast. Just in time he shot down and grabbed the soldier roughly out of their enemies. He didn’t listen to Steve’s cursing, but the ring of another precision shot from a rifle let him flinch and he automatically zigzagged into the sky.

“Tony!” He heard the super soldier try to get his attention.

“Busy here.”

“Tony, Buck… Bucky is here. He shot the guy and the monsters retreat.”

“What?” He quaffed and looked down at himself, and indeed, dangling upside down from the armor was the Winter Soldier, a rather old looking rifle clutched to his chest. He huffed and slowed his neck breaking pace down and turned back to the street where Natasha, Clint and Thor already gathered around their villain. He landed on his hind legs, slowly putting down the good Captain who jumped to right out of his grip to untangle Barnes from between the armor and scales.

They took Barnes with them, the soldier being rather unresponsive, but tried to stay near the dragon. Tony uncomfortably avoided Barnes’ touch, but once the special forces had taken the man with them barely anyone had enough energy to even move. Tony reluctantly lowered himself and let the team take place on his shoulders, even the Winter Soldier. He flew them up to the tower and waited for the to retreat from the Helipad to change.

That night was everything else than peaceful.

Barnes didn’t run away the next day, he stood like a statue when Steve debriefed on what went wrong and what could have been avoidable. He actually thanked Tony for once to have ignored the order to keep fire down and the fight to the ground. The firefighters and damage control were able to keep the damage small enough that the Avengers wouldn’t need to step in for the mess they had made, something that will make Pepper happy, and then dismissed everyone. The shapeshifter was about to bold when the Winter Soldier stepped in his line. He narrowed his eyes and growled deeply but Bucky raised a brow in challenge.

“Buck, Tony, I wanted to talk to you anyway.”

“No,” Both replied and Tony scowled deeply at the soldier.

“Is that about…. Tony I thought you wouldn’t…” Steve said, his face showing so much disappointment that it would made the billionaire flinch back.

“Forgiving doesn’t mean forgetting, Steve.” He muttered and pushed past Bucky.

“HYDRA has a dragon… or at least an egg or two.” The Winter Soldier whispered but Tony picked it up and stopped right in his tracks.

“What?”

“They have…”

“I heard you, Barnes. What are they doing with them?”

“I don’t know, but they are experimenting on him. I guess you left an impression on them, back in the war…”

“You remember, Buck?” Steve asked hopefully but the soldier shook his head.

“Not a lot, but whatever we have…” Barnes shoved his sleeve up and the gleaming metal got Tony’s attention, and around the metal plates was the painting of a red and golden dragon, “It brings the memories back faster then I thought it could. I am not Bucky anymore, I am sorry Steve, please understand.”

“What are you talking about, Buck. You are here.”

“It is the same with me, Steve. I am Tony, but what is left of Howard’s dragon is not the same as me. I have the memories, but I am not just Tony the dragon anymore. But we have to go back to topic here. HYDRA has a dragon, a war dragon. I don’t like it, not at all.”

“They tried to force one on me, but it didn’t work because whatever we have, it doesn’t only help me to rebel, remember or fight HYDRA, it also managed to keep that beast away from me.” He hissed and the shapeshifter paced from foot to foot. Tony felt his skin crawl and the need to get out there and search, or fight.

“Let me go with you” Barnes suddenly said, as if he was reading Tony’s mind.

“Absolutely not. Barnes, I don’t trust you. I never wanted that bond again. You hurt me back then with telling me to stay back, Howard hurt me over Steve and you, and then you take my family.” He shouted scorning and ran. The moment his feet hit the helipad he took off, JARVIS sending the armor after him and it wrapped itself around his neck.


End file.
